Pallet and transportation container

ABSTRACT

A transportation container comprising a plywood mount panel, a metal pipe leg disposed under the mount panel, vertical-panel support members each mounted on the upper face of the mount panel and disposed along the sides of the mount panel, solid hardboard vertical panels each having a lower edge mounted onto a mounting face in the outer side face of the vertical-panel support member by means of nailing; a metal pipe beam disposed along the upper side of the inner face of the vertical panel; a substantially rectangular, solid hardboard top panel supportedly positioned on the upper end face of the beam; and a metal pipe column disposed on the inside of butt corners formed by adjacent vertical panels to extend vertically.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a pallet and transportationcontainer for use in transporting cargo.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Conventional pallets and transportation containers have a generalstructure made of metallic materials, plastic materials, corrugatedcardboards, woods or the like. In usual applications, they have beentypically made of woods. Metal products involve undesirably increasedweight and inferior operation performance. In addition, these metalproducts leads to increased transport cost, particularly in dealing withair cargo. In plastic products, it is necessary to prepare an expensivemolding die for fabricating such pallets or transporting containers.This increases their manufacturing cost, and imposes a restriction onproviding various sizes of pallets or transporting containers, resultingin restricted application. In products made of corrugated cardboards,the corrugated cardboards inevitably include a space therewithin. Thisspace undesirably allows moisture to flow in therethrough, and provideslow strength of the products and deteriorated operation performance ofnailing, screw clamping or bolting. Thus, it is not easy to assemble thepallets or transportation containers made of corrugated cardboards bymeans of nailing, screw clamping or bolting.

[0003] On the other hand, for cargos transporting from United States,Japan and other countries to China, a duty of undergoing plantquarantine and a ban on using wooden materials for packing may be put inforce for preventing an invasion of pest insects. In the event of usingtransportation containers made of woods, it is require to subject toappropriate heat treatments for pest control and to have an officialcertification as to a proof of such heat treatments. Thus, a lot ofcost, time and labor will be imposed to take the heat treatments andacquiring the certification. Particularly, in view of time scale, itwill be difficult to adequately handle transportations with urgency suchas air cargos. However, plywood (veneer plywood or veneered wood) has norequirement for the above heat treatments and the certification as to aproof of such heat treatments because the plywood never includes pestinsects therewithin and thereby has no necessity of pest control.

[0004] Further, it has heretofore been necessary to take a long time foran assembling or disassembling operation of the transportationcontainer, and it has often been the case that the transportationcontainer was damaged during opening the package.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] In view of the above problems, it is therefore an object of thepresent invention to provide a pallet and a transportation containercapable of eliminating the need of heat treatments, readily dealing withvarious sizes of cargos, and allowing an easy assembling operation.

[0006] In order to achieve this object, according to a first aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided a pallet comprising a mountpanel made of plywood or hardboard, and a metal pipe leg having asubstantially rectangular profile and for providing a space under themount panel to allow a fork of a forklift truck to be inserted therein.The metal pipe leg has a substantially horizontal axis and is nailed tothe mount panel by a screw-type nail.

[0007] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a pallet comprising a substantially rectangular mount panelmade of plywood or hardboard, a metal pipe leg having a substantiallyrectangular profile and for providing a space under the mount panel toallow a fork of a forklift truck to be inserted therein, and a resinmaterial filled in the interior space of the leg. The leg has asubstantially horizontal axis and is nailed to the mount panel by ascrew-type nail. Further, the front end of the nail is struck into theresin material.

[0008] In the above pallet according to the present invention, the mountpanel is made of plywood or hardboard, and the leg is made of metal.Thus, differently from conventional wooden pallets, the pallet of thepresent invention has no need of pest control, and thereby norequirements of heat treatments, the certification as to a proof of suchheat treatments and the like. The mount panel made of plywood orhardboard may provide a sufficient strength. Plywood or hardboard may bereadily cutoff to fabricate various sizes of pallets, and may providelower manufacturing cost than that in aluminum. Differently fromaluminum products, the mount panel made of plywood or hardboard may bereadily assembled with nails, and its weight reduction may be moreeffectively facilitated than metal panels such as steel panels. Inaddition, the leg composed of a metal pipe may be readily fabricated bycutting off a long metal pipe and fabricated in various sizes ofpallets. Such leg may be more reliably assembled with high strength ascompared to plastic or paper products, and may readily assure anadequate height required as a distance retainer. Further, usingscrew-type nails may prevent the nails from coming off despite offorming the leg from a metal pipe. Thus, various sizes of pallet may bereadily fabricate on site of an operation for loading a cargo, and mayeliminate the requirements, such as heat treatments, the certificationas to a proof of the heat treatments to cope with various cargos. Thisis advantageous particularly for air cargo.

[0009] As described above, when the metal pipe leg is nailed, the frontend of the nail can undesirably project into the interior space of themetal pipe. In the pallet of the present invention, the interior spaceis filled with the leg resin material. This may prevent the front end ofthe nail from accidentally coming into contact with an object. Further,the front end of the nail is struck into the leg resin material toprevent the leg resin material from getting out of the leg.

[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a transportation container comprising: a substantiallyrectangular mount panel made of plywood or hardboard; a metal pipe leg,having a substantially rectangular profile, disposed under the mountpanel, and including light and left sections each along correspondingone of the right and left sides of the mount panel with placing eachside face of the light and left sections on substantially the same planeas that of corresponding one of the end faces of the mount panel; frontand rear vertical-panel support members, each of which is mounted on theupper face of the mount panel and is disposed along corresponding one offront and rear sides of the mount panel with keeping a given distancefrom corresponding one of the end faces of the mount panel; right andleft vertical-panel support members, each of which is mounted on theupper face of the mount panel and is disposed along corresponding one ofthe right and left sides of the mount panel with placing each side faceof the right and left vertical-panel support members on substantiallythe same plane as that of corresponding one of the end faces of themount panel; front and rear vertical panels, each of which is made ofplywood or solid hardboard and has a lower edge mounted onto a mountingface in the outer side face of corresponding one of the front and rearvertical-panel support members by means of either one of nailing, screwclamping and bolting from outside; right and left vertical panels, eachof which is made of plywood or solid hardboard and has a lower edgemounted onto the leg from outside by means of either one of nailing,screw clamping and bolting and mounted onto a mounting face in the outerside face of corresponding one of the right and left vertical-panelsupport members by means of either one of nailing, screw clamping andbolting from outside; a beam made of a metal pipe or paper pipe anddisposed along the upper side of each inner face of the vertical panels;a substantially rectangular top panel made of plywood or solid hardboardand supportedly positioned on the upper end face of the beam; and acolumn made of a metal pipe or paper pipe and disposed on the inside ofeach butt corner formed by adjacent vertical panels to extendvertically, wherein the mount panel, the front, rear, right and leftvertical panels and the top panel define an interior space serving as acargo space, the vertical-panel support members being made of either oneof a metal pipe, paper pipe and plywood, and the column being mountedonto each of the vertical panels from the outside of the vertical panelsby means of either one of nailing, screw clamping and bolting withoutnailing, screw clamping or bolting to the vertical-panel support membersand the beam.

[0011] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a transportation container comprising: a substantiallyrectangular mount panel made of plywood or hardboard; a metal pipe leg,having a substantially rectangular profile, disposed under the mountpanel, and including light and left sections each along correspondingone of the right and left sides of the mount panel; front, rear, rightand left vertical-panel support members, each of which is mounted on theupper face of the mount panel and is disposed along a corresponding sideof the mount panel; front, rear, right and left vertical panels, each ofwhich is made of plywood or solid hardboard and is mounted onto amounting face in a corresponding outer side face of the support membersby means of either one of nailing, screw clamping or bolting fromoutside; a beam made of a metal pipe or paper pipe and disposed alongthe upper side of each inner face of the vertical panels; asubstantially rectangular top panel made of plywood or solid hardboardand supportedly positioned on the upper end face of the beam; a columnmade of a metal pipe or paper pipe, disposed on the inside of each buttcorner formed by adjacent vertical panels and extending vertically; avertical corner member made of solid hardboard, disposed on the outsideof each butt corner formed by adjacent vertical panels and extendingvertically so as to cover the outer face of both edges of the adjacentvertical panels; a horizontal corner member made of solid hardboard,disposed on the outside of each butt corner formed by the top panel andthe vertical panels and extending horizontally so as to cover the outerface of both edges of the top panel and the vertical panels, wherein themount panel, the front, rear, right and left vertical panels and the toppanel define an interior space serving as a cargo space, thevertical-panel support members being made of either one of a metal pipe,paper pipe and plywood, the column being mounted onto the vertical panelfrom the outside of the vertical corner member by means of either one ofnailing, screw clamping and bolting without nailing, screw clamping orbolting to the vertical-panel support member and the beam, and thevertical panel and the top panel being mounted onto the beam from theoutside of the horizontal corner member by means of either one ofnailing, screw clamping and bolting.

[0012] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a transportation container comprising: a substantiallyrectangular mount panel made of plywood or hardboard; a metal pipe leg,having a substantially rectangular profile, disposed under the mountpanel, and including light and left sections each along correspondingone of the right and left sides of the mount panel; front, rear, rightand left vertical-panel support members, each of which is mounted on theupper face of the mount panel and is disposed along a corresponding sideof the mount panel; front, rear, right and left vertical panel, each ofwhich is made of plywood or solid hardboard and is nailed to a mountingface in a corresponding outer side face of the support member fromoutside; a beam made of a metal pipe or paper pipe, nailed to the innerface of the vertical panel from the outside of the vertical panels, anddisposed along each upper side of the vertical panels; a substantiallyrectangular top panel made of plywood or solid hardboard, andsupportedly positioned on the upper section of the beam and nailed tothe beam from above; a column made of a metal pipe or paper pipe,disposed on each butt corner formed by adjacent vertical panels andextending vertically, wherein the mount panel, the front, rear, rightand left vertical panels and the top panel define an interior spaceserving as a cargo space, all of the mount panel, vertical panels, toppanel, leg, vertical-panel support members, beam and column beingassembled and fixed by means of nailing with screw-type nails, thevertical-panel support members being made of either one of a metal pipe,paper pipe and plywood, the column being nailed from the outside of thevertical panel without nailing to the vertical-panel support member andthe beam, and a part of the screw-type nails hammered to at least onepanel of the vertical panels and the top panel having a head formed inhexagon for fitting to wrenches.

[0013] In the transportation containers according to the presentinvention, each of the vertical panels may be formed by laminating aplurality of solid hardboards including an outer hardboard and innerhard board. The outer hardboard may have side edges each protrudingoutward from a corresponding side edge of the inner hardboard, and eachside edge of the inner hardboard in one of the vertical panels may beopposed to the edge of the inner face of either one of the hardboards inanother vertical panel.

[0014] In this vertical panel composed of the plurality of solidhardboards superposed each other. the outer hardboard may include anupper edge having a substantially the same height as the upper edge ofthe inner hardboard and an lower edge located higher than the lower edgeof the inner hardboard, and the upper edge of the vertical panel iscovered by the top panel.

[0015] In the vertical panel composed of the plurality of solidhardboards superposed each other, the outer hardboard may includes; anupper edge located lower than the upper edge of the inner hardboard; andan lower edge located higher than the lower edge of the inner hardboard,and the upper edge of the vertical panel may be covered by the toppanel. Further, in the vertical panel composed of the plurality of solidhardboards superposed each other, the outer hardboard may include; anupper edge located lower than the upper edge of the inner hardboard; andan lower edge located higher than the lower edge of the inner hardboard,and the upper edge may be covered by the top panel.

[0016] Further, the transportation containers according to the presentinvention may further include: a metal pipe center leg having asubstantially rectangular profile and disposed between and substantiallyin parallel with the right and left leg sections of the leg; a partitionmember disposed longitudinally on the mount panel, located between theright and left vertical-panel support members, positioned substantiallyright above the center leg, and made of either one of a metal pipe,paper pipe or plywood; an elastic resin material having a bufferingfunction, and disposed between the partition member and the rightvertical-panel support member and between the partition member and theleft vertical-panel support member; a floor panel made of solidhardboard or plywood, covering over the elastic resin material, andhaving a central section and edge section supported by the partitionmember and the vertical-panel support members, respectively.

[0017] Additionally, in the pallets and the transportation containersaccording to the present invention may further include a connectingmember, such as a bottom panel or supporting leg, made of a plywood ormetal pipe and for connecting to different sections of the lower face ofthe leg.

[0018] According to the above transportation container of the presentinvention, the components of the transportation container are made ofplywood, metal and solid hardboard. Thus, differently from conventionalwooden transportation containers, the transportation container of thepresent invention has no need of pest control, and thereby norequirements of heat treatments, the certification as to a proof of suchheat treatments and the like. By mounting the right and left verticalpanels on both the vertical-panel support members and the leg, reliablefastness may be provided with high strength. Further, nailing the columnfrom the outside of the vertical panels prevents the head of nail fromdeteriorating the containability for cargos. Disposing the front andrear vertical-panel support members for mounting the front and rearvertical panels with keeping a given distance from the end face of themount panel allows the lower edge of the front and rear vertical panelsto be supported by the mount panel. Furthermore, since the column,vertical-panel support members and beam are nailed to the verticalpanels without being directly connected with each other by means ofnailing, screw clamping or bolting, these components may be readilyseparated when the vertical panels are detached.

[0019] In one aspect of the present invention, the corners of thetransportation container are covered by the corner member. This allowsthe corners to be desirably protected and may prevent water or the likefrom intruding inside as less as possible.

[0020] In one aspect of the present invention, all of the mount panel,vertical panels, top panel, leg, vertical-panel support members, beamand column are assembled and fixed by means of nailing with screw-typenails, the vertical-panel support members being made of either one of ametal pipe, paper pipe and plywood, the column being nailed to each ofthe vertical panels from the outside of the vertical panel withoutnailing to the vertical-panel support member and the beam, and a part ofthe screw-type nails hammered to at least one panel of the verticalpanels and the top panel has a head formed in hexagon for fitting towrenches. In this case, the assembling operation is completed byhammering the screw-type nails. This may provide a speedy operation, andmay more effectively prevent the nails from coming off, as compared toconventional nails. Further, the vertical panels are nailed with nailseach having a head formed in hexagon for fitting to wrenches so thatthese nails may be readily pulled out during an operation for openingpackages. Thus, the operation for opening packages may be completedquickly, and the damage of the vertical panel may be desirably reduced.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the verticalpanels is formed by laminating a plurality of solid hardboards includingan outer hardboard and inner hard board, the outer hardboard having sideedges each protruding outward from a corresponding side edge of theinner hardboard, and each side edge of the inner hardboard in one of thevertical panels being opposed to the edge of the inner face of eitherone of the hardboards in another vertical panel section. In this case,the strength of the vertical panel may be enhanced by laminating thesolid hardboards. In addition, since each side edge of the outerhardboard protrudes outward from a corresponding side edge of the innerhardboard, and each side edge of the inner hardboard in one of thevertical panels is opposed to the edge of the inner face of either oneof the hardboards in another vertical panel section, it may beeffectively avoided to incur damage by water intruding from outside.

[0022] In another embodiment of the present invention, the verticalpanel is composed of the plurality of solid hardboards superposed eachother, wherein the outer hardboard includes an upper edge having asubstantially the same height as the upper edge of the inner hardboardand an lower edge located higher than the lower edge of the innerhardboard, and the upper edge of the vertical panel is covered by thetop panel. If the upper edge of the outer hardboard protrudes outwardfrom the upper edge of the outer hardboard, as with the side edges ofthe vertical panels, just intruding water is not discharged outside butintrudes inside as-is. In order to prevent this problem, the upper edgeof the outer hardboard is arranged in a substantially the same height asthe upper edge of the inner hardboard, and the upper edge of thevertical panel is covered by the top panel. Further, the lower edge ofthe outer hardboard is located higher than the lower edge of the innerhardboard. This may prevent objects from being caught on the lower edgeof the outer hardboard.

[0023] In the vertical panel composed of the plurality of solidhardboards superposed each other, the outer hardboard includes an upperedge located lower than the upper edge of the inner hardboard and anlower edge located higher than the lower edge of the inner hardboard,and the upper edge of the vertical panel is covered by the top panel.This embodiment may desirably prevent water flowing along the end faceof the top panel from intruding the inside of the transportationcontainer through the upper end face of the vertical panels.

[0024] In another embodiment of the present invention, thetransportation container includes the metal pipe center leg having asubstantially rectangular profile. This center led is disposed betweenand substantially in parallel with the right and left leg sections ofthe leg disposed along the right and left sides of the mount panel, anddisposed longitudinally on the mount panel and located between the rightand left vertical-panel support members. Further, the partition memberis positioned substantially right above the center leg, and is made ofeither one of a metal pipe, paper pipe or plywood. The transportationcontainer further includes an elastic resin material having a bufferingfunction and disposed between the partition member and the rightvertical-panel support member and between the partition member and theleft vertical-panel support member, and a floor panel made of solidhardboard or plywood and covering over the elastic resin material, thefloor panel having a central section and edge section supported by thepartition member and the vertical-panel support members, respectively.In this case, a baggage may be protected by the elastic resin material,and the partition member may prevent the elastic resin material to bedeviated from the right position. Providing the floor panel on theresilient resin material may prevent exceeding sinking or unstability.Additionally, positioning the partition member right above the centerleg may prevent the elastic resin material and mount panel from locallyreceiving excessive load.

[0025] Other features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a transportation containeraccording to the present invention.

[0027]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the transportation container ofFIG. 1 in which nails and corner members are taken away.

[0028]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the transportation container ofFIG. 1 in which a top panel, front vertical panel, right vertical panel,elastic resin material and floor panel are taken away.

[0029]FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the transportation container takenalong the line in FIG. 1.

[0030]FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a lower part of a transportationcontainer according to the present invention.

[0031]FIG. 6 shows a screw-type nail, wherein FIGS. 6 (a) and (b) are aside view and an end view from the arrow b-b in FIGS. 6 (a),respectively, showing a screw-type nail having a hexagonal head, andFIGS. 6 (c) and (d) are a side view and an end view from the arrow d-din FIG. 6 (c), respectively, showing a screw-type nail having a circularhead.

[0032]FIG. 7 is a schematic plan sectional view of a modification of atransportation container according to the present invention.

[0033]FIG. 8 shows a substantial part of the modification in FIG. 7,wherein FIG. 8 (a) is a schematic sectional view from lateral side andFIG. 8 (b) is a schematic sectional view from front side.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0034] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 8, a pallet and transportationcontainer according to one embodiment of the present invention will nowbe described. In these figures, a leg resin material is omitted In FIG.2, and right sections of a beam, beam-support members, positioningmembers, elastic resin materials and floor panel are omitted in FIG. 4.

[0035] In FIGS. 1 to 6, a transportation container B is made of steel,solid hardboard or paperboard, resin material and plywood, that is, anyconventional woods having the need of pest control are not used in thistransportation container B. The solid hardboard including a fiberboardhas an excellent strength and impermeability to water, and its thicknessis typically about 2 to 5 mm. The transportation container B comprises amount panel 1, a leg 2 disposed on the lower face of the mount panel 1,vertical-panel support members 3 disposed on the upper face of the mountpanel 1, vertical panels 4 each having a lower edge which is mounted oncorresponding one of the vertical-panel support members 3, a column 6mounted on each of the vertical panels, a beam 7 mounted on each upperedge of the vertical panels 4, a top panel 8 mounted on the upper faceof the beam, a partition member 11 located between the right and leftsections of the vertical-panel support member 3, an elastic resinmaterial 12 provided between the vertical-panel support member 3 and thepartition member 11, a floor panel 13 covering over the elastic resinmaterial, and a corner member 14 covering over each corner formed by thevertical panels and each corner formed by the vertical panels and thetop panel. A substantially rectangular space surrounded by the mountpanel, the front, rear, right and left vertical panel 4 and the toppanel provides a cargo space.

[0036] All of the above components are assembled and fixed by means ofnailing with screw-type nails. While there are various kinds ofscrew-type nails, this embodiment employs a hexagonal head nail 23having a hexagonal head 21 for fitting to wrenches, as shown in FIGS. 6(a) and (b), and a circular head nail 27 having a circular head 26thinner than the head 21, as shown in FIGS. 6 (c) and (d). Each rod 24,28 of the hexagonal head nail 23 and circular head nail 27 has a sharpfront end and a periphery formed with a thread 25, 26. A base section ofeach rod 24, 28 is integrally connected with the center section of theback face of each head 21, 26. In either of the hexagonal head nail 23and circular head nail 27, the screw-type nails are struck using ahammer or the like for nailing. During disassembly, the hexagonal headnail 23 may be readily detached with a suitable wrench. While thecircular head nail 27 is hardly detached, its thin head 26 isadvantageous to reduce undesirable protrusion.

[0037] The mount panel 1 having an upper face for loading cargo or thelike thereon is formed in a rectangular, such as square or oblong, flatpanel made of plywood (veneer). On the lower face of the mount panel,the leg 2 includes right and left leg sections, each of which isdisposed along corresponding one of the right and left sides of themounting board 1, and a center leg section located between the right andleft leg sections. These leg sections of the leg 2 are arrangedsubstantially in parallel with each other, and are made of a steel pipehaving a rectangular profile. One side face of each of right and leftleg sections 2 is located on substantially the same plane as that of theend face of the mount panel 1. A substantiallyrectangular-parallelepiped, block-like leg resin material 2 a isinserted into the inner space of the steel pipe of the leg 2 to fill upthe inner space. The leg 2 is nailed to the mount panel 1 from above themount panel by the circular head nails 2. The front ends of the circularhead nails 27 are struck into each of the leg resin material 2 a toprevent the leg resin materials from getting out of the leg 2. In thiscase, the leg resin materials 2 a may prevent the front ends of thecircular head nails 27 from undesirably coming into contact with someobject. The outer periphery or upper face of the rectangular pipe of theleg 2 contacts the lower face the mount panel 1. The leg 2 provides agiven distance between the mount panel 1 and a surface of a storagesite, such as ground, for placing the transportation container thereon,and thereby a space for allowing the forks of forklift trucks to beinserted therein may be reliably provided between the mount panel 1 andthe surface of the storage site. The upper and lower faces of the mountpanel 1 and top panel 8 and the axis of the rectangular pipe of the leg2 are arranged substantially in parallel to each other. Thus, if thetransportation container is placed on a horizontal site, the upper andlower faces of the mount panel 1 and top panel 8 and the axis of therectangular pipe of the leg 2 will be substantially horizontallypositioned.

[0038] The vertical-panel support member 3 is composed of a rectangularsteel pipe or plywood block formed in an elongated shape, and is mountedonto the mount panel 1 with the circular head nails 27. Thevertical-panel support member 3 is disposed along each side (four sides)of the mount panel 1 with keeping a given distance from each end face ofthe mount panel 1 and placing one side face (mounting face 3 a) of thevertical-panel support member on substantially the same plane as that ofthe end face of the mount panel. The vertical-panel support member 3comprises four sections in the form of a rectangular frame as a whole,and the outer side face of the vertical-panel support member 3 serves asa mounting face 3 a which is positioned substantially perpendicular tothe upper face of the mount panel 1. A space in the rectangular frameformed by the vertical-panel support member 3 is parted right and leftor in the lateral direction of the transportation container B by thepartition member 11. The partition member 11 is positioned substantiallyright above the center leg 2. As with the vertical-panel support member3, the partition member 11 is composed of a steel pipe or plywood blockformed in an elongated shape having a rectangular profile, and ismounted onto the upper face of the mount panel 1 by the circular headnails 27. The upper face of the partition member 11 has substantiallythe same height as that of the upper face of the vertical-panel supportmember 3. The front edge of the partition member 11 substantially comesinto contact with the front section of the vertical-panel support member3 and the rear edge of the partition member 11 substantially comes intocontact with the rear section of the vertical-panel support member 3. Anelastic resin material 12 having a buffering function is providedbetween the partition member 11 and the right section of thevertical-panel support member 3 and between the partition member 11 andthe left section of the vertical-panel support member 3 to fill up aspace defined by the partition member 11 and the vertical-panel supportmember 3. Preferably, the elastic resin material 12 is formed to have aheight slightly higher than those of the partition member 11 and thevertical-panel support member 3. The floor panel 13 covers over theelastic resin material 12 and the partition member 11. The floor panel13 is made of plywood or solid hardboard. The edge section of the floorpanel 13 extends to cover the upper face of each section of thevertical-panel support member 3. Thus, the floor panel 13 may besupported by the vertical-panel support member 3 and the partitionmember 11 to allow objects such as baggage to be placed on the floorpanel 13.

[0039] The vertical panels 4 are made of solid hardboard. The right andleft vertical panels 4 have a vertical height than those of the frontand rear vertical panels. Specifically, each lower edge of the right andleft vertical panels extends to the leg 2, whereas each lower edge ofthe front and rear vertical panels extends just to the front and rearsections of the vertical-panel support member 3. However, each upperedge of the vertical panels 4 is arranged in substantially the sameheight. Each of the right and left vertical panels 4 is nailed to thevertical-panel support member 3 and the leg 2 from outside with thehexagonal head nails 23. Thus, the right and left vertical panels 4 maybe reliably fixed by mounting onto both of the vertical-panel supportmember 3 and the leg 2 by means of nailing. Each of the front and rearvertical panels 4 is nailed to the vertical-panel support member 3 fromoutside with the hexagonal head nails 23. Further, each lower end faceof the front and rear vertical panels 4 comes close to or in contactwith the mount panel 1 so that when a large load is imposed on thevertical panels 4 downward, such load may be supported by the mountpanel 1. This may prevent the rod section 24 of the hexagonal head nail23 nailed to the front and rear vertical panels 4 from suffering a largesharing force.

[0040] The column 6 is disposed on the inside of each butt corner to beformed by adjacent vertical panels. The column 6 is composed of a steelpipe having a rectangular profile. The column 6 extends vertically alongthe side section of each inner face of adjacent vertical panels 4. Thelower edge of the column 6 is opposed to the upper face of acorresponding corner of the vertical-panel support member 3, and theupper edge of the column 6 extends substantially to corresponding upperedges of vertical panels 4. The outer face of each butt corner formed byadjacent vertical panels 4 is covered by a corner member 14 bentsubstantially at a right angle. This corner member 14 is made of solidhardboard. The adjacent vertical panels 4 are nailed to the outer sideface of the column 6 from the outside of the vertically extendingsection of the corner member 14 with the hexagonal head nails 23. Thebeam 7 is disposed along the upper side of the upper edge of each innerface of the vertical panels 4, and is composed of a steel pipe having arectangular profile. The beam 7 extends substantially horizontally, andeach section of the beam 7 has edges each of which substantially comesinto contact with the column 6. Each corner between the top panel 8 andthe vertical panels 4 is covered by the horizontally extending sectionof the corner member 14 from outside, and the beam 7 is nailed tocorresponding one of the vertical panels 4 from the outside of thecorner member 14 with the hexagonal head nails 23.

[0041] The top panel 8 is made of solid hardboard. The top panel 8 isdisposed above the beam 7 to cover over each upper end face of thevertical panels 4, and is nailed to the beam 7 from above the cornermember 14 or from outside with the hexagonal nails 23. A positioningmember 31 provided on the upper face of each edge of the vertical-panelsupport member 3 is opposed to the side face of the lower edge of thecolumn 6 to position the lower edge of the column 6. The positioningmember 31 is composed of a steel pipe or plywood block having arectangular profile, and is nailed to the vertical-panel support member3 with the circular head nails 27. A beam-support member 32 provided onthe upper edge of the column 6 is opposed to the lower face of each edgeof the beam 7 to support each edge of the beam 7. The beam-supportmember 32 is composed of a steel pipe or plywood block having arectangular profile, and is nailed to the column 6 with the circularhead nails 27. The positioning member 31 and the beam-support member 32are installed before the cargo space is established by the front, rear,right and left vertical panels 4 and the top panel 9.

[0042] After constructing the transportation container B as describedabove, a cargo is loaded on the upper face of the mount panel 1 thoughthe partition member 11, the elastic resin material 12 and the floorpanel 13. Then, the vertical panels 4, columns 6, beams 7 and top panel8 are assembled by nailing with the hexagonal head nails 23. When thetransportation container B storing the cargo therewithin is transportedby a forklift truck, forks of the forklift truck are inserted in betweenthe leg sections of the leg 2. On the other hand, a package according tothe transportation container B is opened, the hexagonal head nails 23nailed to the vertical panels 4 and top panel 8 are pulled off bydriving a wrench to detach the vertical panels 4, top panel 8 andothers.

[0043] As described above, the leg is required to have a certain heightto provide a space for allowing the forks of forklift trucks to beinserted thereinto. Generally, the plywood does not have a sufficientthickness for constructing the leg 2. Even if the plywood is laminatedto provide a sufficient thickness, the resulting product is inferior instrength and unpractical time and labor is required for the aboveassembling. Thus, the leg 2 has been made of a metallic material such asa steel pipe.

[0044] For the column 6 and beam 7, it is not adequate to form them bylaminating the plywood. Specifically, even if nails are hammered to theside face of the laminated plywood, the nails will come off with a minorforce. This restricts an efficient hammering direction for allowing thenails to be reliably fixed. Thus, the plywood is not suitable for thecolumn 6 and beam 7 in which nails are hammered to two adjacent surfacesat a right angle.

[0045] When the head 2 of the screw-type circular head nail 27 fornailing the leg 2 from above the mount panel 1 has a circular shape andhas a thickness less than that of the head 21 of the hexagonal head nail23 for wrenches, problems caused by the nail head projecting from theupper face of the mount panel 1 are sufficiently eliminated. This mayprevent the nail head from hindering an operation for mounting thevertical-panel support members or to assuring containability for cargos.

[0046] In the transportation container B, a pallet according to thepresent invention may be provided by detaching all of componentsincluding the right and left vertical panels, which are located abovethe mount panel 1.

[0047] One modification of the transportation container B will now bedescribed. In this modification, each of the vertical panels 4 and thetop panel 8 is composed of a plurality (two, in the modification inFIGS. 7 and 8) of solid hardboards 4 a, 4 b, 8 a, 8 b which aresuperposed each other. Preferably, these solid hardboards 4 a, 4 b, 8 a,8 b are bonded each other with a suitable adhesive. Other structure ofthis modification is the same as that of the abovementioned embodiment,and bonding and welding are not used as with the abovementionedembodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, in the top plan view of the verticalpanels 4, the outer hardboard 4 b is larger than the inner hardboard 4a, and each edge of the outer hardboard 4 b protrudes outward from acorresponding side of the inner hardboard 4 b. This provides steppedbutt corners formed by adjacent vertical panels 4. In each of thestepped butt corners, the side end face of the inner hardboard 4 a inone of the vertical panels 4 is opposed to the edge of the inner face ofeither one of the hardboards 4 a, 4 b in another vertical panel. Thismay effectively prevent water or the like from intruding from outside.

[0048] Further, as shown in FIG. 8, in each of the vertical panels 4,the upper edge of the inner hardboard 4 a has a substantially the sameheight as that of the upper edge of the outer hardboard 4 b, and eachupper end face of the inner and outer hardboards is covered by the toppanel 8. This may effectively prevent water or the like from intrudingfrom outside through the upper end faces of the inner and outerhardboards 4 a, 4 b. In the front and rear vertical panels 4 shown inFIG. 8 (a), i.e. the vertical panel 4 having an lower edge nailed to thevertical-panel support member 3, the lower edge of the inner hardboard 4a has substantially the same height as that of the lower edge of theouter hardboard 4 b, and each lower end face of the inner and outerhardboards 4 a, 4 b is opposed to the mount panel 1.

[0049] In the right and left vertical panels 4 shown in FIG. 8 (a), i.e.the vertical panel 4 having an lower edge nailed to the vertical-panelsupport member 3 and the leg 2, the lower edge of the outer hardboard 4b has a height higher than the lower edge of the inner hardboard 4 a.This may prevent a certain object from being caught on the inner face ofthe lower edge of the outer hardboard 4 b and being undesirably torn.Further, as shown in FIG. 8, in the top panel, the inner and outerhardboards 8 a, 8 b are formed substantially in the same size.

[0050] For a second modification, in each of the vertical panels 4, theupper edge of the outer hardboard 4 b is positioned lower than the upperedge of the inner hardboard 4 a. Other structure is the same as that ofthe abovementioned modification. This allows water or the like intrudingin each upper end face of the vertical panels 4 to be discharged outsidewithout intruding inside. Thus, the transportation container B may bepreserved from the intrusion of water or the like.

[0051] While he present invention has been explained in detail inconjunction with the specific embodiment, various modifications andvariations may be apparently made without departing from the spirit ofscope of the present invention. Thus, it is not intended that theinvention be limited to such an embodiment, except as indicated by theappended claims. For example, the following modifications arecontemplated.

[0052] (1) A bottom panel or supporting leg made of plywood or metalpipe may be provided to connect different positions of the lower face ofthe leg, for example, by covering over the lower faces of the pluralityof leg sections to bridge therebetween.

[0053] (2) While the mount panel 1 is composed of a single panel in theabove embodiment, it may be formed by combining a plurality of members.

[0054] (3) As to each component of the transportation container andpallet, any size may be appropriately selected.

[0055] (4) As long as the leg is mounted directly or indirectly on thelower face of the mount panel 1, any arrangement or number may beappropriately selected. However, it is preferable that the leg isprovided on the lower face and at least four corners of the mount panel1.

[0056] (5) While the leg 2, vertical-panel support member 3, column 6,beam 7 and partition member 11 is made of a steel pipe in the aboveembodiment, any metal pipe made of another material (for example,aluminum) may be used. However, a desirable material is steel.Otherwise, a paper pipe may be used. The vertical-panel support member 3may be formed of another materials (for example, hardboard) other thanthose of the above embodiment. However, a desirable material is a metalpipe

[0057] (6) While each component is essentially nailed, the kind of thescrew-type nails may be appropriately selected. For example, thehexagonal head nail 23, circular head nail 27 or another kinds ofscrew-type nails may be selectablly used. However, in order tofacilitate the operation for opening packages or to reduce the damage ofthe transportation container, it is desirable to nail the verticalpanels with the hexagonal head nails 23 capable of being detached withwrenches. Other suitable fastening devices may be apparently used,except as indicated by the appended claims.

[0058] (7) The partition member 11, elastic resin material 12 or thefloor panel 13 may be omitted. In this case, a cargo, such as articles,may be placed directly on the mount panel 1.

[0059] (8) The right and left vertical panels 4 may be constructed insubstantially the same mounting structure as the front and rear verticalpanels 4. Specifically, each lower edge of right and left verticalpanels 4 may not be extended to the leg 2 but to the vertical-panelsupport member 3.

[0060] (9) While the leg resin material 2 a is inserted into the spaceof the leg in the above embodiment, it may be formed by charging a resinmaterial into the space. However, the inserted leg resin material 2 a isadvantageous to allow the leg 2 and the leg resin material 2 a to bereadily separated in a scrapping operation.

[0061] (10) The pallet and transportation container may be assembled byusing screw clamping or bolting instead of nailing.

[0062] (11) The number of the hardboards forming the vertical panel 4and top panel 8 may be appropriately selected. That is, one or pluralityof hardboards may be selectively used. Further, the vertical panel 4 andtop panel 8 may be made of plywood.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pallet comprising: a mount panel made ofplywood or hardboard, said mount panel having an upper face for placinga cargo thereon; and a metal pipe leg having a substantially rectangularprofile and for providing a space under said mount panel to allow a forkof a forklift truck to be inserted in said space, wherein said leg has asubstantially horizontal axis, said leg being nailed to said mount panelby a screw-type nail.
 2. A pallet comprising: a substantiallyrectangular mount panel made of plywood or hardboard; a metal pipe leghaving a substantially rectangular profile and for providing a spaceunder said mount panel to allow a fork of a forklift truck to beinserted in said space; and a resin material filled in the interiorspace of said leg, wherein said leg has a substantially horizontal axis,said leg being nailed to said mount panel by a screw-type nail, whereinthe front end of the nail is struck into said resin material.
 3. Atransportation container comprising: a substantially rectangular mountpanel made of plywood or hardboard; a metal pipe leg having asubstantially rectangular profile, said leg disposed under said mountpanel, said leg including light and left sections each alongcorresponding one of the right and left sides of said mount panel withplacing each side face of said light and left sections on substantiallythe same plane as that of corresponding one of the end faces of saidmount panel; front and rear vertical-panel support members, each ofwhich is mounted on the upper face of said mount panel and disposedalong corresponding one of front and rear sides of said mount panel withkeeping a given distance from corresponding one of the end faces of saidmount panel; right and left vertical-panel support members, each ofwhich is mounted on the upper face of said mount panel and disposedalong corresponding one of the right and left sides of said mount panelwith placing each side face of said right and left vertical-panelsupport members on substantially the same plane as that of correspondingone of the end faces of said mount panel; front and rear verticalpanels, each of which is made of plywood or solid hardboard and has alower edge mounted on a mounting face in the outer side face ofcorresponding one of said front and rear vertical-panel support membersby means of either one of nailing, screw clamping and bolting fromoutside; right and left vertical panels, each of which is made ofplywood or solid hardboard and has a lower edge mounted on said leg fromoutside by means of either one of nailing, screw clamping and boltingand mounted on a mounting face in the outer side face of correspondingone of said right and left vertical-panel support members by means ofeither one of nailing, screw clamping and bolting from outside; a beammade of a metal pipe or paper pipe, said beam disposed along the upperside of each inner face of the vertical panels; a substantiallyrectangular top panel made of plywood or solid hardboard, said top panelsupportedly positioned on the upper end face of said beam; and a columnmade of a metal pipe or paper pipe, said column disposed on the insideof each butt corner formed by adjacent vertical panels and extendingvertically, wherein said mount panel, said front, rear, right and leftvertical panels and said top panel define an interior space serving as acargo space, said vertical-panel support members being made of eitherone of a metal pipe, paper pipe and plywood, and said column beingmounted onto each of said vertical panels from the outside of saidvertical panels by means of either one of nailing, screw clamping andbolting without nailing, screw clamping or bolting to saidvertical-panel support members and said beam.
 4. A transportationcontainer comprising: a substantially rectangular mount panel made ofplywood or hardboard; a metal pipe leg having a substantiallyrectangular profile, said leg disposed under said mount panel, said legincluding light and left sections each along corresponding one of theright and left sides of said mount panel; front, rear, right and leftvertical-panel support members, each of which is mounted on the upperface of said mount panel and disposed along a corresponding side of themount panel; front, rear, right and left vertical panels, each of whichis made of plywood or solid hardboard and mounted onto a mounting facein a corresponding outer side face of said support members by means ofeither one of nailing, screw clamping or bolting from outside; a beammade of a metal pipe or paper pipe, said beam disposed along the upperside of each inner face of said vertical panels; a substantiallyrectangular top panel made of plywood or solid hardboard, said top panelsupportedly positioned on the upper end face of said beam; a column madeof a metal pipe or paper pipe, said column disposed on the inside ofeach butt corner formed by adjacent vertical panels and extendingvertically; a vertical corner member made of solid hardboard, saidvertical corner member disposed on the outside of each butt cornerformed by adjacent vertical panels and extending vertically so as tocover the outer face of both edges of said adjacent vertical panels; ahorizontal corner member made of solid hardboard, said horizontal cornermember disposed on the outside of each butt corner formed by said toppanel and said vertical panels and extend horizontally so as to coverthe outer face of both edges of said top panel and said vertical panels,wherein said mount panel, said front, rear, right and left verticalpanels and said top panel define an interior space serving as a cargospace, said vertical-panel support members being made of either one of ametal pipe, paper pipe and plywood, said column being mounted onto saidvertical panel from the outside of said vertical corner member by meansof either one of nailing, screw clamping and bolting without nailing,screw clamping or bolting to said vertical-panel support member and saidbeam, and said vertical panel and said top panel being mounted onto saidbeam from the outside of said horizontal corner member by means ofeither one of nailing, screw clamping and bolting.
 5. A transportationcontainer comprising: a substantially rectangular mount panel made ofplywood or hardboard; a metal pipe leg having a substantiallyrectangular profile, said leg disposed under said mount panel, said legincluding light and left sections each along corresponding one of theright and left sides of said mount panel; front, rear, right and leftvertical-panel support members, each of which is mounted on the upperface of said mount panel and disposed along a corresponding side of saidmount panel; front, rear, right and left vertical panel, each of whichis made of plywood or solid hardboard and nailed to a mounting face in acorresponding outer side face of said support member from outside; abeam made of a metal pipe or paper pipe, said beam nailed to the innerface of said vertical panel from the outside of said vertical panels,said beam disposed along each upper side of said vertical panels; asubstantially rectangular top panel made of plywood or solid hardboard,said top panel supportedly positioned on the upper section of said beamand nailed to said beam from above; a column made of a metal pipe orpaper pipe, said column disposed on each butt corner formed by adjacentvertical panels and extending vertically, wherein said mount panel, saidfront, rear, right and left vertical panels and said top panel define aninterior space serving as a cargo space, all of said mount panel,vertical panels, top panel, leg, vertical-panel support members, beamand column being assembled and fixed by means of nailing with screw-typenails, said vertical-panel support members being made of either one of ametal pipe, paper pipe and plywood, said column being nailed from theoutside of said vertical panel without nailing to said vertical-panelsupport member and said beam, and a part of said screw-type nailshammered to at least one panel in said vertical panels and said toppanel having a head formed in hexagon for fitting to a wrenche.
 6. Atransportation container as defined in either one of claim 3, 4 and 5,wherein each of said vertical panels is formed by laminating a pluralityof solid hardboards including an outer hardboard and inner hard board,wherein said outer hardboard has side edges each protruding outward froma corresponding side edge of said inner hardboard, and each side edge ofsaid inner hardboard in one of said vertical panels is opposed to theedge of the inner face of either one of said hardboards in anothervertical panel.
 7. A transportation container as defined in claim 6,wherein said outer hardboard includes; an upper edge havingsubstantially the same height as the upper edge of said inner hardboard;and an lower edge located higher than the lower edge of said innerhardboard, wherein said upper edge is covered by said top panel.
 8. Atransportation container as defined in claim 6, wherein said outerhardboard includes; an upper edge located lower than the upper edge ofsaid inner hardboard; and an lower edge located higher than the loweredge of said inner hardboard, wherein said upper edge is covered by saidtop panel.
 9. A transportation container as defined in either one ofclaim 3, 4, and 5, which further includes: a metal pipe center leghaving a substantially rectangular profile, said center leg disposedbetween and substantially in parallel with said right and left legsections of said leg; a partition member disposed longitudinally on saidmount panel and located between the right and left vertical-panelsupport members, said partition member positioned substantially rightabove said center leg, said partition member made of either one of ametal pipe, paper pipe or plywood; an elastic resin material having abuffering function, elastic resin material provided between saidpartition member and said right vertical-panel support member andbetween said partition member and said left vertical-panel supportmember; and a floor panel made of solid hardboard or plywood, said floorpanel covering over said elastic resin material, said floor panel havinga central section and edge section supported by said partition memberand said vertical-panel support members, respectively.
 10. Atransportation container as defined in either one of claim 3, 4, and 5,which further includes a connecting member made of metal pipe or plywoodand for connecting with different sections of the lower face of saidleg.
 11. A transportation container as defined in claim 6, which furtherincludes: a metal pipe center leg having a substantially rectangularprofile, said center leg disposed between and substantially in parallelwith said right and left leg sections of said leg; a partition memberdisposed longitudinally on said mount panel and located between theright and left vertical-panel support members, said partition memberpositioned substantially right above said center leg, said partitionmember made of either one of a metal pipe, paper pipe or plywood; anelastic resin material having a buffering function, elastic resinmaterial provided between said partition member and said rightvertical-panel support member and between said partition member and saidleft vertical-panel support member; and a floor panel made of solidhardboard or plywood, said floor panel covering over said elastic resinmaterial, said floor panel having a central section and edge sectionsupported by said partition member and said vertical-panel supportmembers, respectively.
 12. A transportation container as defined inclaim 6, which further includes a connecting member made of metal pipeor plywood and for connecting with different sections of the lower faceof said leg.
 13. A transportation container as defined in claim 7, whichfurther includes: a metal pipe center leg having a substantiallyrectangular profile, said center leg disposed between and substantiallyin parallel with said right and left leg sections of said leg; apartition member disposed longitudinally on said mount panel and locatedbetween the right and left vertical-panel support members, saidpartition member positioned substantially right above said center leg,said partition member made of either one of a metal pipe, paper pipe orplywood; an elastic resin material having a buffering function, elasticresin material provided between said partition member and said rightvertical-panel support member and between said partition member and saidleft vertical-panel support member; and a floor panel made of solidhardboard or plywood, said floor panel covering over said elastic resinmaterial, said floor panel having a central section and edge sectionsupported by said partition member and said vertical-panel supportmembers, respectively.
 14. A transportation container as defined inclaim 7, which further includes a connecting member made of metal pipeor plywood and for connecting with different sections of the lower faceof said leg.
 15. A transportation container as defined in claim 8, whichfurther includes: a metal pipe center leg having a substantiallyrectangular profile, said center leg disposed between and substantiallyin parallel with said right and left leg sections of said leg; apartition member disposed longitudinally on said mount panel and locatedbetween the right and left vertical-panel support members, saidpartition member positioned substantially right above said center leg,said partition member made of either one of a metal pipe, paper pipe orplywood; an elastic resin material having a buffering function, elasticresin material provided between said partition member and said rightvertical-panel support member and between said partition member and saidleft vertical-panel support member; and a floor panel made of solidhardboard or plywood, said floor panel covering over said elastic resinmaterial, said floor panel having a central section and edge sectionsupported by said partition member and said vertical-panel supportmembers, respectively.
 16. A transportation container as defined inclaim 8, which further includes a connecting member made of metal pipeor plywood and for connecting with different sections of the lower faceof said leg.